


Against All Odds

by KaeLeigh357



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bad Decisions, Falling In Love, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-22
Updated: 2013-02-22
Packaged: 2017-12-03 06:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/695339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaeLeigh357/pseuds/KaeLeigh357
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Human/Highschool AU. After a death in the family, Castiel Novak and his parents move half way across the country, where he meets Dean Winchester. Little does Cas know, Dean has his own demons to deal with. A story in which friends can become your greatest weapon, and more often then not become your greatest weakness. Rating might change. Destiel eventually with some Sabriel on the side.</p><p>Revision and continuing coming soon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ch. 1

**A/N: Just a little something that has been running through my mind for a while. I FINALLY made myself sit down and type it out.. This is going to be a complete AU. Meaning no scary story monsters, Mary is alive, everyone is human and starts out Dean and Cas meet in high school. Some things are personal things that have happened and I'll work them in here, others are completely fictional.**

Against All Odds

I will never forget that day we met. After everything we have been through, I never thought things would end up this way. That I could have everything I have ever wanted, all thanks to that green-eyed man.

It's naive to think that people can have the "love at first sight" that so many people hope for. That you can just look into someones eyes and know that they are the one. Of course that's not what happened here... Not truly anyways.

The saying should be "friends at first sight, lovers come later". That would be more fitting to this little story.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't understand Amy, why does he have to do this to me now? Couldnt they at least have held off until after graduation?" Castiel Novak huffed out after slamming his cup of Root Beer down on the table. "I mean come on, it's not like there isn't going to be amples amount of time or anything like that to just wait." He looks up to his friend of 12 years for any reassurance that he is making a good point. Sadly though, he is mistaken.

"Sorry man, you knew this would be coming. The only reason your folks were sticking around this hell hole was cause of your grandma. Sorry again about all of that..." Amy replies before giving him a sad look and taking a drink of her milkshake.

She had a great point, ever since Castiel was in middle school when his dad's mother became sick, his parents would say that they didn't want to leave not knowing how much longer she had. They were relieved that they had a few more good years with her before the cancer finally took her the summer after Castiel's junior year.

When his eyes started to water for the whatever-th time over the loss of his grandmother, he didn't even know anymore, Castiel looked down and muttered a "Thanks" to his friend. Poor Castiel, he had been the one to find her after Death took her in her sleep one weekend while he was visiting her.

After a moment, he looked back up at Amy. "That's another thing. I don't want to just up and leave everything I have ever known after losing her. This place is pretty much all I've got left of her. They could just wait around until I'm able to be on my own and then they can up and move half way across the country by themselves." The look in Amy's eyes told him what he already knew.. His parents would never go for that.

"Look Cas, I know how you must feel. And just think, in less than a year, if you still feel that way you can come back. Maybe. It's all up to you man. You know I'll always be here for you. And we can still stay in contact. Thank God for modern technology." Amy chuckled out that last part, hoping that her friend would see the light and agree.

"Yeah I guess your right. Lets get outta here. No more sad boo-hoo moments, I want to whoop your ass at least one more time at laser tag before I go." Cas half smirked at her before throwing the tip down and practically jumping off the bench.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Boys! Can you come down here please? We need to have a talk." Mary Winchester called up the stairs to her sons. Turning back to her husband, John, she grabbed his hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. Her smile not quite meeting her eyes. I don't know if I can do this again... 

"What is it mom?" Her youngest asked.

"Sam, where's your brother" John asked.

"Right here dad. What's up?" Dean replied after showing up right behind Sam.

"Maybe you guys should have a seat." Sam and Dean gave each other questioning looks but obeyed their mother regardless.

"Listen boys, I got got a call from my CO. Seems we're set to ship out the 10th of next month. Now I know that's not that far away so I need your help to make sure things are squared away before I ship out. Understood?"

"Yes Sir" Dean and Sam replied together. Both of them had the same kinds of thoughts going through their heads, but neither of them showed it. They knew that it would be useless to try to fight it or make a scene. Orders are orders after all and a Marine never questions orders.

"Good. Now, ..." John started but Dean never heard the rest. All he could hear were his own thoughts in his head. After all the stories he's told us about that place and he has to go BACK... replaying over and over.

"Yes Sir" He heard Sam say after shaking himself out of it.

"Dean?" John said, giving him a stern look. "Yes Sir" Dean answered without really knowing what it was he was agreeing to.

"Alright good. Now, go get some sleep. We'll get started with things in the morning." John dismissed them while leaning back in his chair.

"Good night boys" Mary and John yelled out to them as they headed back up the stairs.

"Night" "Goodnight" they replied, still in their own little worlds.

Now, Dean Winchester has never really been the type of person to pray, but as he lay in bed that night, he prayed that if there was a God, that he would keep his father safe.

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**Read + Review and All That Jazz. Really though, it would mean the world to me. :D**


	2. Goodbyes are hard.

Chapter 2: Goodbyes are hard

"Oh Cas! I'm gonna miss you!" Sarah wailed. Cas just rolled his eyes, thankful for the huge bear hug so she couldn't see it.

"Can't... Breathe..." He choked out after a minute. Reluctantly she pulled away muttering a sorry. He placed his hands on her shoulders, "Relax, Amy has a point there is always Facebook, and you've got my number. I'll be back to visit Christmas break, if not before."

"You better" Sarah threatened looking in to his blue eyes before crushing him in another of her bear hugs.

"Okay okay, Jeez you don't want to kill the poor guy." Cas' long time friend and Sarah's brother Jake said from behind her. As soon as she let him go, before Castiel could mutter a thank you, Jake pulled him into his own bone-crushing hug.

"Must run in the family" Cas told him after he let him go. For added effect he rubbed his chest checking for any broken ribs. "You know I'll miss you guys too, but it would be great to arrive in one piece."

"What if we want to keep a part of you with us?" Lucas joked.

"Sorry doll face, it's all or nothing." Amy laughed out her reply to her boyfriend.

"I really am going to miss you guys. I promi..." Cas started only to be cut off by his dad honking for him to hurry up.

"Hurry up kiddo, we got a plane to catch." Amelia yelled through the open passenger window for her son.

"I'll call you guys when we land." Cas told them as he gave everyone one last group hug. Everyone waved their goodbyes as Castiel slumped himself in the backseat. He knew he might regret it but he couldn't bring himself to look back to his friends he was being forced to leave behind.

"It'll be fine son. You'll see. A nice refreshing change of pace. I'm pretty sure you'll love Kansas. Everything's so calm and peaceful out there." His father James tried to reassure him. "Lawrence isn't to small, and not to big either, real Goldilocks of a town. And it's not to far from Kansas City if you're wanting to go to KU. It's a nice school. Great medical program just like you always wanted."

"Your dad's right Cas, just give it a chance hun. Everything will be perfect." Amelia chimed in with what her husband was telling her son.

Putting in his headphones, Castiel's only reply he gave them was a "Sure." He didn't want to leave. California has always been his home, his life. Now that Rachel Novak was gone though, he wasn't quite sure what hold this place had for him any more. His grandma was always such a loving person, probably one of his greatest friends. Never had he kept any secrets from his grandmother. Now with everything that has happened, he didn't even know if he still wanted to become a doctor, something he had wanted to do since he was 5. If after so many years they weren't able to do anything for Rachel, what faith could he put into a career like that. He didn't think he could deal with putting a family through pain like what his has gone through the past few years. Of course thoughts of his grandma brought him right back to that horrible morning earlier that summer...

_Castiel, along with his little cousin Alfie, was staying at his grandmother's for a week while his parents went to see his mom's sister and her family. Two days into the visit though as Castiel was helping put Alfie to bed, he became somewhat snippy towards his grandmother. It's expected. He is seventeen after all. He had no problems taking care of his grandma and watching his cousin while his parents were away, but the kid was warring on his last nerve._

_"Need any help dear?" He heard his grandma ask from the door._

_"Nah, I got it Grams. Just go lay down and relax."_

_"Granma, Granma, Granma! Look what Uncle Zach taught me tonight! " Alfie exclaimed trying to get out of bed._

_"Damnit Alfie Lay Down!" Cas snapped trying to get his kid cousin to lay back down._

_"Granma he cussed at me!" "Cassie, Relax I can help you get him to..."_

_"God Damn It Alfie. Grams, I GOT IT!" Cas yelled at her still wrestling with Alfie._

_Throwing her hands up defeated she muttered an "Okay, fine. Have it your way" walking away._

_After almost an hour of dealing with the argumentative ten-year old, he finally got him to quiet down and get to sleep. Still irritated, he walked back to the living room to head to bed on the pull out bed out of the couch. Looking up from her book Rachel asked him, "Everything alright now dear?"_

_"Yeah. Fine Grams. I'm heading to bed. Night." Castiel spat out at her, still angry from the earlier fiasco._

_Sighing, Rachel got up and waited for their nightly hug, a special one that Cas and her came up with when he was 7 and still used, that never came. Her lips pulling down a little at the corner she bid her grandson goodnight and headed through the house to her bedroom._

_The next morning, just before eight o'clock, Castiel woke up to the sound of his grandmothers alarm going off. 'That's weird' He thought. 'Grams usually gets up before 5' Finally waking up completely, he jumped up just knowing something was wrong. Practically flying out of bed, he ran back to his grandmothers bedroom. Frozen by the sight that awaited him just for a second, his bright blue eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and heartache. "Gram? Grams?!" He touched her hand but pulled away when it was cold. He wasnt sure what to do, so he tried to shut the alarm clock up so he could think. 'Fucking alarm how do you shut this damn thing up...' He didn't want to waste time messing with it so he just ripped it from the wall. 'I've gotta call somebody... Aunt Jenny. She's the closest outta everybody, she can help me out.' Running back to the living room to grab his cell, he seen Alfie still asleep in his bed. 'Probably should let him sleep some more. Things will be hell here once more people show up... don't need to worry him right now...' He thought as he dialed his phone for his aunt._

_"Hello?" His Uncle Zach picked up. 'God damn it, why'd that prick have to answer?' Cas thought._

_"Uncle Zach? Its Castiel, I need to talk to Aunt Jen. She around?" He asked._

_"Jennifer's already at work. Everything alright Castiel?" Zach asked him with a huffy tone. Apparently the feelings are mutual._

_"No, not exactly, it's Grams. She's gone Zach... Died sometime last night." Cas choked out. Voice breaking as tears threatened to fall._

_"She WHAT? Hold tight I'll be right there."_

_"Please hurry Uncle"_

_The rest of the day passed in a slow blur. He couldn't really realise what was going on, though he wasn't sure he would want to. All he could remember was trying to get Alfie to calm down and talking to some of his Gram's friends from her church. He wasn't in the house when the coroner took his grandma's lifeless body away, he was outside trying to keep Alfie's mind off things. That had to be one of the worst days of his young life up until that point._

"CASTIEL!" His mothers voice snapped him out of his waking nightmare. "You wanna come on, where's your head at boy? We've been trying to get your attention the last five minutes. "

"Sorry. Didn't hear you. Music." he lied. In truth he hadn't even bothered to press play. He was just thankful he hadn't starting crying thinking back to that day.

"Alright well come on. We got a plane that won't wait for us. Don't wanna miss it." His father told him while handing him his carry on.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What else we got to do?" Dean asked, looking up to his little brother who could see the list from his spot at the counter.

"I think that's it... Yeah we're all good." Sam replied back to him. "Oh wait, did you ever get tonights dinner? Not on the list but I heard Mom ask you about it last night since Dad's leaving tomorrow, it'll kind of be like our Last Supper."

Getting up from under the sink he was just busy fixing , "Sammy, Don't say it like that damn it. Just listen to how that sounds." Dean told him after smacking the back of his head.

"My bad, you know what I meant though. And it's Sam, not Sammy you jerk. So'd you do it?" He asked him while trying to put his long hair back to the way it was before his brother smacked him.

"No, Bitch not yet. Want to go with me? " Dean asked while heading to the living room to grab the keys and cash from his mother.

"Eh, Sure. Why not. Not much else to do plus I can see if they have the next book out in that series I'm reading." he replied.

"God, You are such a geek. But whatever, Come on. Pie's-a-callin." Dean laughed at him while running out the door.

An hour or so later they returned home to their mother singing in the kitchen while making tea. _'I love hearin momma sing. I don't know what I would do without it. I can't believe the Corp is making dad leave AGAIN. This is his third tour in the last 7 years. When will enough be enough'_ Dean found himself thinking. He truly hates when his family can't be all together. But he knows this is the only life his dad has known for the last almost 20 years. _'He is so close to getting out... can't they just leave him be?'_ Of course he will never speak this out loud. He has to be strong. He has to keep things together. For his mom. For Sammy. He can't let them down.

"Oh good, you boys are home. Help me fix dinner would you? Your father should be home soon" Mary asked while putting the tea away.

"Where'd he go?" Sam asked.

"He had to have a meeting with his troops before heading out tomorrow. You know the drill." Mary told him.

Half an hour later dinner was almost finished when John got home. "Mmm Smells great darling" John told her giving his wife a small kiss hello. "How much more time we got before it's done? I'm starved."

"Should be time after you've changed so hurry up and I'll set our plates." Mary answered.

Dinner went much like normal, except with Sam asking things about his deployment that some John couldn't answer because he didn't want to lie to his youngest and get his hopes up. When the family was finished, Sam and Dean cleared the table to give their parents some time to talk.

"How long do you think he'll be gone this time Dean?" Sam asked while putting the rest of the dishes in the sink.

"Not sure Sammy. Last time it was just for 9 months but remember the time before that. It lasted almost 15. So there ain't no telling." Dean replied putting the leftovers in the icebox.

"God I hope it's not that long. Mom was going crazy."

"Hey boys, Come in here for a minute would you?" they heard their father call to them. "Just wanted to thank you boys for helping me out these past few weeks. And wanted to let you know that your Uncle Bobby come down every so often and staying for a little while letting your Aunt Karen run things while he's gone. Be sure to help him out with anything he needs and do everything he tells you while he's here."

"Yes Sir." Sam and Dean answered together.

"Also, Dean. You know the drill. Watch out for Sammy and your mother til I get back. And I wanted to give you this." He tossed him something. Dean was quite surprised to see keys flying in the air towards him. _'He's giving me the Impala?'_ The 1967 Chevy Impala has been in their family since before his parent got married. He couldn't believe it. Baby was finally his! "You better take amazing care of her. If I see one single scratch on her when I get back, she's mine again and you'll kiss your chance of having her goodbye."

"Not a scratch. Wouldn't dream of it. Thanks Dad." Dean tried to say with an even tone but not quite able to hide his excitement.

"Well lets get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." Mary said before her boys could see her cry. She knew Dean had been wanting that car since he was little and with John finally giving it to him, to her it felt like he was trying to divvy up his stuff before something bad could happen to him. Not something she wanted to think about though she knew the very real possibility of that happening with him going off to war again.

Bright and early that fateful Thursday morning, the Winchesters arrived at the airport there in Lawrence. As John was saying his goodbyes to his family, all four of them couldn't help but think, _'I hope this isn't the last time our family is together.'_

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	3. Chapter 3

"Home sweet home." Jimmy said.

Getting out of the car they rented til theirs could get there with the rest of their things, Cas looked up to the two-story blue house. _'At least it's bigger then our last one'_ he thought. As he walked up the steps and into the front door he couldn't help but feel like it wouldn't be home for a while. And not just because of how empty it was but how empty it made him feel. After living in the same house in California since he was 4, this place in Kansas would take some time to feel homely to him.

"Your room's upstairs and to the right, if you want to go drop off your bag. I have to call the school to see about getting you enrolled. Classes start next week" his mother told him.

Nodding to his mother, Cas headed up the stairs. It was hard to admit it, even to himself, but it really was a nice place. The cost of living difference really did allow his parents to upgrade. And with his dad getting that new job within the company along with a pay raise, he couldn't really complain. But of course, that didn't really stop him. _'I could have stayed with Aunt Jen. Dad might not have liked it and by the end of it me and Zach might have killed each other, but at least I could have been close to my friends and what Gram's left behind. Here I can't even visit her grave.'_ No matter how many times his parents tried to convince him the move would do him good, he just couldn't bring himself to agree.

Dropping off his stuff and grabbing his iPod, he headed back down to the kitchen. "I'm goin for a little walk. I'll be back later."

Talking to someone from the school, his mother just nodded to let him know she heard him. Putting his headphones in, he headed out the down towards a park he had seen on the way into town a few streets over from the new house. Without realising it, his iPod put itself on shuffle when he went to put it in his pocket since he didn't lock the player. Just letting it go, he continued on his walk. A couple of songs into it, Evanescence's My Immortal came on. Now Cas isn't usually the sappy type. In fact he tends to think tears are a sign of weakness. But for some reason any time he hears this song after his grandmothers passing, he can't help but cry.

_'Why did I have to be such an assbutt to her that night... I didn't even get a chance to say I was sorry...'_ He continued to think along those lines as the tears fell. Not even thinking straight while in his own little self-pitying world, he didn't see the vehicle coming towards him til the last possible second...

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The first few days were the hardest, like usual. His mom wouldn't let her sons see her cry, but she couldn't change the fact that they could hear it at night. Mary always took John's deployment the hardest. He was the love of her life after all. And after all the stories John had been reluctant to tell her at first, only giving in because Mary was just as stubborn if not more than he was, it made her worry all that much more.

Sam didn't handle it much better. Though they often fought when John was home, Sam truly did look up to his father. But with being thirteen, he had that typical teenage defiance. Always trying to find ways to go against his father's smaller orders. Still, underneath all of that, he did still love him.

Dean, on the other hand, did his best to act as if it was just another day. Though inside it was eating him alive. He knew more stories about that place then Mary did, only because John knew that he would never tell his mother if he was told not to. But of course, John was even more reluctant to tell Dean about some of the things that happened over sea's, but Dean being Dean had inherited both of his parents bull-headedness. Even without being told to, Dean knew he would never retell the stories to his mother. He understood it would kill her, either just emotionally or physically he didn't want to find out. So he kept it bottled up inside him.

So as best they all could, they tried to go on with daily life.

"Dean, we'll be back later. I'm going to take Sam to get some stuff for school since it's just right around the corner. Need anything while we're out?" his mother asked him.

"Nah, I'm good ma. I might see if Jo wants to hang out for a bit though" he replied.

"Okay. Well if you go out just leave a note or something and I guess we'll see ya in a bit."

After calling Jo and getting things figured out for tonight, he remembered to leave his mom a note like she asked.

_Me and Jo are goin to meet up and head to Ash's for a while._

_Should be back for dinner. If not I'll call._

_-D_

Knowing the park where they were going to meet up was just a couple of blocks away, Dean just chose to walk. Baby was low on gas anyways and he was broke. Grabbing his jacket, he headed out.

Arriving at the park, he figured out Jo wasn't there yet. So he sat at a bench near the road to wait for her. That's when he seen a guy, probably about his age crossing the street slowly, almost zombie like. The kid had his headphones on so he couldn't hear the engine of the truck heading towards him. 'Shit, they ain't slowin down' . All in a matter of about half a second, he jumped up and ran to the strangers aid. Knocking the kid out of his trance the pushed the kid with him to the other side of the street and out of the path of that truck. The force causing the kid to land on his back in the grass, and with Dean's natural lack of balance had him falling on top of the stranger.

Looking down into his bloodshot blue eyes, Dean just knew something had to be wrong with the poor kid. Moving one of the ear pieces aside he asked "Dude, you alright? That was a close one."

Still in a state of shock, the guy just shook his head.

Realising he was still laying on top of the poor guy, Dean quickly sat up. "It's dangerous to walk around with them things on." he joked to him.

Apparently not hearing the sarcasm in his voice the boy answered back with "It's not like that usually happens to me. I should have just looked before I crossed. I just wasn't thinking."

Giving the guy a once over Dean couldn't stop his mouth before he asked "Haven't seen you around. You new or somethin?"

"Yes." Was all he said.

'Well okay. Not much of a talker...' But Dean wouldn't try to push him into talking about why he was crying. He knew he would get angry if some stranger tried to push themselves into his head. So instead, he settled for just introducing himself.

"Well, I'm Dean."

"Castiel."

"Well Cas, seems you just made your first friend. And here comes your second" he added after seeing Jo heading down the road.

Castiel just gave him a look, but visibly shook it off figuring if this Dean character wanted to be a friend he wouldn't turn him down.

"Why are you guys sitting in the grass?" Jo asked as soon as she reached them. Giving Dean a look of And who's your new friend? As Dean caught Jo up on what went down he turned to Cas, "Cas this is Jo, Jo this is Castiel. Apparently he's new here so maybe we should take him to Ash's with us. If you want that is...?" aiming that last part completely at Cas.

"Sure, Why not. Might as well meet everyone I can before school starts." was Cas' reply.

"Awesome. It's settled then. Lets go." Dean exclaimed as he got up to pull Castiel off the ground so they could head to his other best friends place.


	4. Chapter 4

After returning home from Ash's, Dean found himself just laying in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking over the days events. He didn't regret saving the new kid, but he was a little more than slightly disappointed that he had missed a call from his father. He remembered back to his dads last deployment, when there had been a time they hadn't been able to hear from him for over a month. He knew it was hard on all three of them, and he hoped for his mom and Sammy's sake that it wouldn't turn out like that again. He wanted nothing more than to be able to calm them into not worrying so much, but in all honesty he didn't know how with him worrying just as bad.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock at his bedroom door. "Yeah?" he called out.

The door opened revealing Sam. "Hey Dean. How's Jo and Ash doin?" Sam asked him while leaning on the door frame. "It's been a while since they've been over."

Sitting up, Dean motioned for Sam to come over and take a seat. "They're good. What about you? How'd your day go? Heard you got to talk to dad for a little bit."

"It was good. Mom and me went out for ice cream after we got my school stuff. And yeah, dad called for a little bit. He said he didn't have much time but he'd try to call again this weekend since he missed you while you was out." Sam told him while he made his way to sit at Dean's computer desk. "He still wouldn't go into any detail with me about what's going on over there."

"He's telling you everything you need to know. That he's safe and that's all that matters Sammy." Dean told him. Hoping that he would just drop things off at that and not keep hounding their dad for any gory details.

"It's Sam. I'm not a kid anymore Dean, and that's my point. I see what they show on the news. And I also know that they don't even come close to showing the worst of it. Mom wouldn't worry like she does if it was just lollipops and candy canes over there. I wish he would just tell me the truth, I can take it." he snapped at Dean giving him one of his famous bitch-faces. Dean just stared back at him. Refusing to give in and tell the kid what he knew deep down he didn't really want to hear.

"Look, I know how you must feel, you just have to trust dad and me when we tell you that it's for the best that you don't know what goes on. And you have to promise you'll just let it go..." Dean all but begged him. Sam just nodded but had that look in his eyes that told Dean he would drop it only for a little while. _Bull-headed little turd._ Dean thought shaking his head but deciding to just drop it for now. "Well, anyways. All ready for school now? My little Sammy's growing up. Already heading into high school." Dean joked with him standing up to ruffle Sam's mop that he called hair.

Sam just rolled his eyes at his older brother while trying to put his hair back into place. "Yeah, even went to go pick up my schedule today. Did you ever go to get yours?"

"Nah, I'll take care of all that later. Still got the rest of the week," Dean answered back. Honestly, he had planned to see if Jo and Ash wanted to do that today, but forgot all about it after that thing with Cas. Cas! He found himself hoping the kid was doing better. He had been even more quiet than before when they had made it to Ash's place. Now that he thought about it, Dean didn't think the kid said more than three sentences the whole time they were there.

"Hello! Earth to Dean..."

"Huh, What'd you say?" Dean replied shaking himself out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed Sam talking to him as he thought of Castiel. Surprisingly more worried about the boy than he thought he should be.

"I was wanting to see if you could tell me anything about these teachers." Sam repeated, waving his schedule in his brothers face. Dean grumbled but snatched the piece of paper from Sam.

"God, I didn't even know freshmen could take so many AP classes. But sorry kiddo, I haven't had any of these guys." Dean told him while handing him back his class list.

"Alright well I'm headin to bed. Night Dean." Sam said while heading out of the room. Not before giving him another bitch-face for the AP classes comment.

"G'Night man."

After putting his stereo to play some AC/DC, Dean headed to lay back down. Checking his phone, he noticed he had missed a text from Jo.

**Jo: So whats up with the new kid, and since when have u been so quick to make friends?**

Dean knew she had a point. The thought had already crossed his mind, usually he was more on guard. Not to say that he was reclusive but usually he wasn't the kind to jump the gun into a friendship with anyone. Hell, it had even taken like 6 months for him to even think of calling Jo or Ash friends and everyone knew how close they are.

**Dean: I dk Jo, kids new and just seemed like he needed somebody. Aint U always telln me to let more ppl in?**

**Jo: Well ya but I didnt think u'd do it that quick.**

**Dean: Well maybe a change of pace'll work.**

**Jo: Ya, we'll see. Night dude.**

**Dean: G'nite**

Turning over, Dean did his best to clear his head well enough to sleep. He finally dozed off listening to 'Highway to Hell'

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Walking through the door, Cas was back to his normal self. The earlier events seemed to jar him into making sure he paid more attention, not wanting a repeat when there was no one around to help him.

"Where have you been?" his mother called from the kitchen.

"Met some kids and we hung out for a little bit. Sorry I forgot to call." Cas replied; not wanting to tell his mother how they met, not wanting to worry her as he headed into the living room to where his father was. The house wasn't as bare as when he had left. Apparently one of the moving vans had showed up with their livingroom set along with some other things. He didn't see the car out front so that meant he wouldn't have a bed for tonight. Couch it is..

"That's good to hear. Have fun?" his dad asked as his mother brought in some fruit for them all to share. Grabbing a piece of pineapple, Castiel just nodded.

"Well, your all set for school now and the last moving van should be here sometime tomorrow so make sure you're here to help." His dad told him after biting into a slice of apple.

"Will do. Well I'm goin to go call Amy. I'll talk with you guys later." Castiel said to his parent as he got up to head into his bedroom.

After calling Amy and telling her all about what had happened he would be lying if he said he was surprised at what she told him.

"You know you gotta tell your folks sometime, right?" Amy voice rang out through the phones speaker.

"Why would I have to?" Castiel asked her back.

"Well, even I know your mom will want to know how you met this Dean kid, and if she asks him straight and he tells her what you goin to do then?" she huffed at him.

"Yeah, I know. I'll deal with it okay?" Cas somewhat pleaded with her to leave it be.

"Alright fine. As long as you realise how shit will hit the fan if you don't." Amy left things at that.

After finishing talking, they promised they would call each other soon. Heading back downstairs to head to sleep, Castiel chose to still keep his parents in the dark. Just for now at least he told himself, tho even he didn't even sound convincing to himself.

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The rest of the week passed with relative normalcy for both boys. They hadn't seen each other since, but that didn't stop them from thinking of the other. They couldn't even explain why. Just they found themselves thinking of the other at random times. Dean tried telling himself he just wanted to know Cas was okay. While Cas would wonder what Dean was up to when he found himself bored, which seemed to be quite often lately.

Finally, the first day of school had arrived. Sam was his normal giddy self when it came down to school, not ever wanting to be late was multiplied tenfold since this was his first day of high school.

"HURRY UP DEAN! GOD I can't believe you're still in bed. GET UP!" Sam yelled at him while seeming to fly thru the air to land on Dean when he didn't sit up.

"God DAMNIT Sam. Get the fuck off me. I'm up already Jeez." Dean snapped at him from under the blanket.

"BOYS! Knock it off. Sam, come eat. Dean, Get up NOW" Mary yelled up from the bottom of the stairs. Knowing that they had pushed the wrong buttons with their mom since she almost never raised her voice, ever, they decided to just silently obey.

A few minutes later, Sam was finishing up his bowl of HoneyCombs as Dean came down the stairs dressed in his normal faded blue jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt.

"Ready to go Sammy?" After receiving a nod from Sam, Dean grabbed his leather jacket and headed to the door calling out "See ya later Ma."

They headed towards the school in silence, the only sound coming from the low volume of the radio and the rumble of Baby's engine. All of a sudden Dean pulls the Impala over. Sam looked up from his book to give his older brother a questioning look, which Dean missed because he was in the process of getting out of the car. Looking back down the road in the direction they had just came from, Sam heard Dean call out, "Hey Cas!, Want a ride man?" _Who's Cas?_ Sam thought to himself.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, the back door was opened and in sat this kid, around Dean's age with a mop of messy black hair. "Hello." Cas greeted Sam with a small smile.

"Hey. You a friend of Deans?" Sam asked him as said Dean made it back into the drivers seat and started the car back up.

"Sammy this is Castiel. Cas, this' my brother Sam." Dean listed off introductions.

"Nice to meet you Sam."

"You to Cassiel."

"Castiel." Cas corrected at the same time as Dean.

After giving Dean a small look, Sam looked back to Castiel. "My bad. So are you new? You look like you'd be a senior, right?"

"Yes. Just moved in a little over a week ago. And yes I am a senior this year." Looking Sam over again, Cas asked, "Are you a junior?"

It was Dean that answered with "Sammy here's fresh-meat. He's just freakishly tall." He ended with a chuckle.

As they continued on towards the school in small talk, Dean interrupted his brother and new friend once they arrived. "Two newbies ready? Welcome to Purgatory."


	5. Chapter 5

After Sam went on his way, Dean and Cas headed towards the office to pick up their schedules. (Dean because he was just lazy and never went to get it and Cas because with being new the school needed a few days to place him in classes.)

"So what makes you call the school Purgatory?" Cas asked him.

"You'll see soon enough. This place is worse than Hell." Dean answered back to him while looking over the class schedule the secretary handed him. "What's your first class?"

"Looks like I have ... English IV." Castiel told him, while turning to walk down the hall where the lady said the English and Math hall was.

"Awesome, so do I. Come on, I've heard the teacher can be a real bitch if kids are late, don't want that on your first day." giving him a mocking grin, they headed off to class.

"Winchester!" An accented voice yelled out from behind the boys. _Shit. Do I ever catch a break?_ Dean thought.

"What do you want Crowley?" Dean called out while turning to face the newcomer.

As he made it up to the pair, Crowley gave Castiel a glance and asked him "Mind if I borrow your friend for a moment, darling? I promise I'll have your boy back to you here real soon." Looking back to Dean as to make sure everything would be alright, or if he should just stay put, Castiel gave a short nod after Dean said "It's all good Cas, I'll be in there in a minute."

"Again, I ask what the fuck do you want?" Dean went back to glare at Crowley. Even though he was positive he knew what it was the little demon of a boy was here to talk to him about.

"Luke needs to see you after school. You didn't think you could get out of your agreement that easy did you?" Crowley spat out while glaring right back at Dean just as harshly.

"What, he got you doin his little bitch work now?"

"On the contrary. I could care less if all this fell apart around his slimy little paws, but as long as his crosshairs stay off of me I don't care who he targets. You included. And I hear your brother has finally come to join the big boys now. If you wish for him to stay away from your darling little Sammy, I suggest you do your best to not upset Lucifer."

Luke Milton, or Lucifer as so many called him, lived up to his nickname. Anything bad that happened in school or around town, you could find Luke either behind it or involved in some way. Tim Mays, a guy that graduated the year Luke and his twin brother Michael started high school, was arrested last year for dealing drugs. Rumors went around that Luke had made him do it somehow, but of course there was no proof so the cops couldn't do anything about it. Dean of course, being in the situation he was, knew it to be true. How did he know, well, after Luke had seen a fight that Dean got in with one Gordon Walker, he came to Dean with a deal. No he didn't want Dean for something as small as dealing. Luke had better plans for the Winchester.

The morning after Dean's fight with Gordon, Luke approached him with an evil looking grin. He had told him he wanted Dean to come and work for him. Just some small little work that Luke had called 'loan-sharking'. He explained that in his line of business there was problems with people paying up sometimes and needed a little persuading to catch up their debt. At first, Dean refused. And after he continued to refuse it started to anger Luke to no end. No one said no to Luke Milton, and he wouldn't let one Dean Winchester be the first to get away with it. That's when the threats towards Sam started. See, Luke knew about Sam from his youngest brother Gabriel. It was simple really... Work for him, Sam stays safe, he'd even make sure that the kid stayed happy. Turn him down, then they would have 'issues'. With a promise from Luke that Deans work for him would stay on the down low, Dean had no choice but to agree. He had to look out for his little brother after all.

That was almost two years ago.

Dean had thought that this nightmare would be over with after Luke had graduated. But alas, Luke had missed enough school for 'personal reasons' that he was forced to come back the next year to finish up his schooling. Making Dean and him in the same graduating class. He knew his chance of getting out was slim to none. And it was even worse now that Sam was in the same school. Dean didn't want to admit it but Crowley had a point. Things would turn from bad to worse if he tried to get away from it all while Sam was so vulnerable.

Sighing, all Dean said to Crowley before he turned to stomp off was "Fine, Tell Luke I'll meet him at the garage at 5." _Fuck, Fuck, Fuckity fuck-fuck This won't end well..._

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After leaving Dean and that Crowley kid alone, Castiel made it into his first hour class happy to see Jo already sitting in the back.

"Hello Jo." Cas welcomed her as he took a seat across the ile from her.

"Hey Cas. You seen Dean this morning?" Jo asked him looking up from her phone. "I think he forgot his phone again. Like normal."

"Uh Yeah. Him and some English sounding guy were needing a minute to talk. He should be in here in a few minutes, this is his first class too." Cas answered back to her while he pulled out a book he had been reading for the past few days.

"You catch a name?"

"Crowley I think Dean called him."

"Well shit..." Jo said to herself, not really meaning for Castiel to hear her.

"Why, what's wrong?" Cas looked up to her from his book, trying to hide any worry from his voice and make it as just a curious question.

"It's.. Nothing Cas. Don't worry about it. Crowley's just a prick." Jo cut herself off when she seen Dean enter the room. "Yo, Dean" she called out to grab his attention. As Dean made his way to the back to sit with his friends, Castiel already had his questions forming on his lips.

"Everything alright?" Cas asked Dean. Looking into his new friends green eyes, Cas seen something flash through them that he couldn't quite place. But as fast as it had came, it was gone again.

"Yeah, everything's great." Dean answered back with a smirk, but Cas wasn't totally convinced. But of course, he wasn't wanting to push the issue and risk angering him. _He never pushed you to talk that first day, you should return the favor._ Cas decided it was for the best.

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The rest of the day seemed to drag on. As it turned out, Dean had four of the same classes as Cas and Jo had another two with him. At the end of the day, Castiel was more than ready to start walking home until Dean came up behind him.

"Where do you think you're going? We parked over there this morning." Giving his head a little jerk back towards the Impala, Dean added "Before you can decline, you're on the way anyways so might as well." Dean grabbed Castiels elbow and pulled him back to head towards the car. If Castiel thought about that feeling when Dean grabbed his arm, he would label it as static electricity. Seeming to not notice, Dean just continued. "Normally I'd see if you wanted to hang out or somethin but I have some stuff to take care of later tonight. You think you'd want to come with me, Jo and Ash to Lazer City this weekend? You don't mind a little lazer tag do ya?"

A little taken aback by that, Cas nodded. "Yeah. That'd be fine. I didn't think anyone but me still played... My mom and dad are always telling me it's childish."

"Well it kinda is, but it's still fun so we do it anyways. Awesome. Well if Sam would hurry up we could get outta here." Dean replied as he searched back towards the school for his brother. "There we go. Hey Sammy, how'd it go?" Dean yelled out that last part as Sam got closer.

"It was good. Me, Gabe and Chuck have a few classes together this year." At the mention of Gabe's name, Dean got that look in his eye again. _I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't staring. Damn it I can't do this again. Can't let that happen again._ Cas started to think back to things that had happened at the start of the summer before his grandmother passed away but was pulled from his thoughts by Dean turning the volume of the radio up so high that any older person would be screaming at him to turn it down before their ears started to bleed.

"DEAN TURN IT DOWN" Sam yelled from the back seat but to Castiel, it sounded like it was a whisper compared to the music.

"It's to loud, then you're to old." Dean said after he had already turned the music down. But he didn't bother to turn it back up. Pulling up to where Cas had told Dean where his house exactly was, Dean stopped him from getting out. "Hey, I'll be by to get you about 7:45 tomorrow and I'll give you a ride. No 'ifs ands or buts' about it." he told him ginning.

"Alright Dean, see you tomorrow. Goodbye Sam."

"Later Cas" Sam called back to him as they backed out of the driveway and headed the rest of the way home.

"Hey Sammy, I got some stuff to take care of later, so I'm going to make sure you get set up for dinner and then I'll run and do all that. If you need anything, be sure to call me, okay?" Dean glanced over at Sam with a look that told him to just go with it and don't ask questions. Dean's own little 'no-bullshit' face as Sam thought of it.

"Yeah, okay."

An hour and two sandwiches later, Dean got ready to head out. _This has got to end. I really can't keep doing this._ "Alright Sam, Call me if you need me." He left before he could hear his reply. _Why do I have a bad feeling about this..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I both loved and hated writing this chapter. To many close to home feels....

As Dean pulled up to the old abandoned building, known to all of Luke's cronies as 'the garage', he still couldn't shake the feeling of dread deep in his gut. He was sure that Luke was in no way happy with him for ignoring him theses past couple of weeks. But since he had sent Crowley to deliver that message, he knew there would have been no way out of this. Crowley would have already passed on the message that he had given word to Dean, so ultimately there was no way out of this that wouldn't end in bloodshed.

Shutting of Baby's engine, he got out and headed up the walkway through the old junkiers that were still there from when the place had been a salvage yard. Pausing for a moment to take a much needed deep breath, Dean pushed open the worn down double doors leading into the gutted out building. Most of the interior walls had been knocked down long before Luke had taken over the place for his own 'personal needs'. Most people couldn't even tell some of the walls were ever there, except for Dean. It made him sick to his stomach to think back to a time this had been his Uncle Bobby's place of business with another family friend Rufus before he had relocated to South Dakota. Dean could still see ghost-like figures of him and Sam, only 4 and 8 years of age in his memory, playing random board games on the corner table waiting for their uncle to get off of work for the day. Still looking towards that corner which no longer housed said table or games, Dean visibly shook himself from the memories and continued on into the old building towards the back where some walls were still up to hold Luke's 'office'.

As he stepped closer, Dean could actually hear Luke yelling at some poor kid. _Great, Lucifer's already in a shitty mood._ Dean tried to bring himself to feel bad for whoever it was on the receiving end of one of Luke's lashings, but he couldn't. All that was going through his head was how he wished and hoped things would lighten up before he had to deal with him. Dean waited a few seconds. And when the harsh words seemed to have died down, at least for a moment, he raised his arm to give a quick knock to the door. Stepping back to wait for the go-ahead to enter, he found himself not having to wait long. Out of the door came Alistair, Luke's right-hand man. "Dean, Dean, Dean. You're in for a treat. I got him all warmed up for ya." Oh god, how Dean hated that voice that came out of that dick. Fortunately, or unfortunately however you wanted to look at it, Luke chose that moment to call for Dean to enter. Giving Al the one-fingered salute as he shoved past him, Dean entered the office.

"Ah, Dean. Glad you finally decided to grace me with your presence." How Luke could tell it was Dean without even turning from the window he was looking out, Dean would never know. Luke just had that kind of sixth sense sometimes. If you were to ask Dean, it was down right creepy.

"Sorry, Things have been... busy." Dean answered back trying not to give Luke to many details.

"Yes, I've heard. I understand it Daddy has left again." Turning to face him, Luke's icey blue eyes seemed even colder than normal.

"Yes" Dean always thought short simple answers would work best with Luke. So far so good.

"Now Dean, I like you. I do. You are one of my bests. Just as good, if not better, then Alistair. So I'm going to offer you a second chance. Ignore me again, and it'll be on your head what happens. And just remember..." Sound of breaking glass filled the room from somewhere outside. "Things can _always_ get worse."

It took all the will-power Dean had to not punch him. To forcefully remove that evil look off his face. _You Son of a Bitch. Just wait til I get my chance, you fuck. You'll get whats comin to you._ Of course Dean wouldn't ever voice his thoughts that he wanted so badly to just scream at Luke. He understood that he had to wait until that perfect moment to take him down. He just hoped with everything he had that it wouldn't take forever for that moment to present itself.

"Well, that being said, keep an ear out... Might be in need of your services here soon if someone plans to give me trouble like I feel he will." Turning his back on Dean once again, Luke just raised a hand dismissively. "You may go."

Not needing to be told twice, Dean headed back to his beloved Baby.

"Son of a BITCH!" He yelled out. Someone, more than likely Alistair, had busted out the back glass while he was inside with Luke. It fit in to perfect with what Luke was saying, Dean just knew he was behind this. He wanted more than anything to just storm back in there and beat that dick Lucifer black and blue... But he knew he couldn't. _Not Yet_ he told himself over and over. "I'm so sorry Baby" he voiced to his car as he got into the drivers seat to head out of this hell hole. On his way back home, if he broke more then a few traffic laws, he couldn't bring himself to care.

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Morning came way to early in Castiel's opinion. If asked why he was awake most of the night, he would just tell you it was because he couldn't get everything just the way he wanted it in his room and isn't one to leave things half done. Which is true, for the most part. Except he was done with his room at about 10 the night before. The real reason Cas was awake until at least 2 or 3 in the morning... The Night Terrors. If they were normal nightmares, Cas thinks he could deal. But the waking up in a cold sweat, heart racing a mile a minute; there is hardly any getting past that. People usually say that true night terrors you can't always remember after you wake. And sometimes that's true. Others, Castiel can't do anything to get them out of his head. A handful of times they even happen when he is awake, Wakeing Terrors is what he calls them.

Of course, he'll never tell anybody about them. He hasn't even told his parent but he is sure by the way that they look at him some mornings after that they hear him anyways. Calling out to someone to help him, or yelling for someone who will never be able to answer his cries again. Or the screams he does that are loud enough to wake even him. He thanks God that they don't try to press the issue.

After getting dressed and half way down the stairs, the smell of bacon and pancakes hits Castiel like a ton of bricks. It's his favorite, but nine times out of ten it means his mother heard him last night. Taking a big breath in, Castiel continues on. He wants nothing more then to run back to his room and crawl back under his blankets, but he knows he can't do that.

"Morning" his mother calls over her shoulder when he reaches the kitchen table.

"Mornin'" he greets her back before only half filling his plate with two of the smaller pancakes and some bacon.

"Guess who finally landed an interview?" Amelia chimes happily. When they moved, Jimmy was the only one guaranteed a job but it was well paid enough that they figured they could hold everything together til Amelia was able to snag a job. Cas finds himself hoping that was the reason for the selection of food, and not the earlier assumption.

"Awesome! Where's it for?.." He asks. And when he started the sentence, it sounded so happy for his mother or so he hoped. By the end of it though, he was afraid it sounded how he was feeling. Scared. He knows it's one of his minds little tricks it plays on him, but seeing Nick sit across from you at the table digging into the peanut butter is something for him to be weary of. More than ever he is thankful his mother can't see his waking terrors with him. Lets him know whats real and whats not... the same can't be said for when he's alone though. As his mother tells off one of the random places she applied for, he does his best not to look at the figment of the man of most of his night terrors.

Breakfast continued on with minimal small talk. Just more questions of how school was so far. He did his best to pay attention to his mom instead of the creepy singing figment. Nicks rendition of Stairway to Heaven must have been so loud Castiel missed the honk from the front. His mother pulled him from his mental block with a light hand on his arm. "You expecting anybody?" she asked in the most motherly voice possible. Amelia knew that her son didn't want to talk about it, but she was smart enough to notice when something was up and wanted to convey with her tone that she was here for him whenever he so chose to talk.

"OH, yes. Dean offered to give me a ride. Bye mom. Good luck with the interview!" He called out in a rush while scrambling to get his bag and jacket. Never so grateful in his life that the figment had stopped singing long enough to tell him 'See you around, _Angel._ ' Castiel wouldn't let the memories of the last time he heard that sentence come out of Nicks mouth in real life haunt him even harder the rest of the day. He wouldn't.

"What happened?" Cas asked Dean as he got into the back of the Impala.

"I don't know. Some bastard musta done it while I was in the store last night." Dean hated lying to his friend but he didn't want Sam to know the real reason so he kept with the story he had told his mom and brother last night. "Got a replacement comin from my uncle Bobby next week tho." Dean hated letting Bobby know about baby, but he couldn't afford to place an order for a new one. So when Bobby had planned to come down next week for a few days, he asked him if he could bring one down that would fit. He pretty much had to beg Bobby not to let John know. Which came with a rant full of 'idjit's and 'ball's but he finally agreed.

Looking back to Cas, Sam asked him "What's wrong man?" Dean took a look back thru the mirror at Castiel and immediately shot a glare directed at Sammy. Sam always meant well but seemed to ask questions at the wrong time. He didn't have Dean's lack-of-pushing-things trait.

"Nothing. Just didn't get much sleep." was all the answer Castiel gave.

"That sucks." Sam muttered.

The rest of the ride to school was uneventful, until the opening to Stairway to Heaven came through the speakers. Seeing Castiel flinch through the mirror, Dean shut off the music and quickly asked Castiel, "So you ready for Friday? Lazer City is cool. They got an arcade in the front room we can play between rounds."

"Yes, more than ready. Its been a while since I've played." Castiel told him. "Who all is coming with?" He asked after a second.

"Us three, Jo, Ash, Chuck and Gabe." Sam answered before Dean had the chance. "And lets keep it that way Dean. Please don't invite Lisa again. I really don't want to listen to her bitch again."

"Who's Lisa?" Castiel asked.

"Lisa Braeden" "She's liked Dean for like FOREVER. Even tried dating sophomore year, but things didn't work out to well. She still tries though."

"She would even out the teams if she came" Dean told Sam while giving him a sideways glance.

"Then we get Castiel" "Oh no way. Not going to happen. Cas is with me." Dean shot back at him, and thankfully for Castiel Dean missed the reddening of his cheeks.

"Nope. Not going to work then. Want an even playing field then let me invite Jess or Pam. Pam's bad ass at lazer tag."

Thinking it over for half a second, not really having to think about it all that hard, Dean agreed. "Fine. Pam it is. Hope your love of the sport means your actually pretty good Cas." He direct that last part to the back seat.

Giving Dean a small smile, Cas said "No worries there."

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It was Wednesday before Jo and Ash had to cancel in favor of helping Jo's mother Ellen in the Roadhouse for a party that had R.S.V.P's over half the bar. So Jo was stuck serving drinks and food while Ash cooked, since the Roadhouse was a bar and grill type place. God help that party...

Thursday, Pam's dad caught her skipping classes again and grounded her for a month. At least is was better then the boarding school her parents keep threatening her with. Thursday was also when Chuck had told Sam that his mother was in town and it was court ordered that she had visiting time with him. Chuck didn't really like his mom after the divorce and her just up and leaving him and his dad, but if he refused, his mother could make life hell for him and his dad. So to avoid any of that, Chuck had no choice but to cancel with a promise to make it up to them later.

So as it turned out, it was just Sam, Gabe, Castiel and Dean. Which Dean really didn't mind. He told them (and himself) that if it was just two on two and they managed to get the place to themselves, it would be ten times better. He wouldn't admit, if at least to himself, that it was because over the past few days, he had almost become addicted to Castiel.

Not in some creeper kind of way. They just spent most of their time together. Hanging out all they could during school, like during breaks or lunch. Going over to each others houses to do homework since Castiel was a little ahead in some classes because of coming from California, and Dean was ahead in others. Even though half the time they forgot about their homework completely in favor of watching a movie or something. And it wasn't even Dean that always put off the homework. At least half the time Castiel would shove his books away from him, declaring that it was making his eyes hurt or some random excuse.

The doorbell signalled Gabe's arrival. Dean kinda liked the kid, even if his older brother was a monster.

"Hey Dean-o. Ready to be taken down?" Gabe asked him in greeting.

"You wish midget." Dean retaliated. "SAMMY?! You ready yet?"

Stomping down the steps, Sam shot Dean one of his famous bitchfaces. "I was ready before you were."

"Whatever dude."

Heading out the front door, Sam and Gabe raced towards the Impala, winner always got shotgun after all. "Nope! Not today. Gotta pick up Cas remember."

Defeated, Sam and Gabe both grumbled as they got into the back. A few minutes later, Dean was heading up to Castiel's front door to get his friend. Giving it a quick knock, a man opened it a few seconds later. Jimmy looked just like an older version of Cas, so similar it was almost creepy. Like Cas was his clone. Dean had seen some pictures during his visits that showed him that if Jimmy and Castiel had been brothers and not father-and-son they could have been twins.

"Cas! Dean's here. He should be down in a minute. You wanta come in and wait?" Jimmy asked him.

"No thank you sir."

"Dean, please. Just call me Jim. Don't care for the sound of sir."

"Yes sir... er. Jim."

"Hello Dean." Castiel said from behind his father.

"Hiya Cas. Ready to go?" Dean asked him thankful for the saving grace away from Jim. It's not like Dean didn't like Jimmy. It was just a little weird to think your friends dad is hot, even weirder when said dad looks just like you think your friend will in the future. As Castiel told his dad his goodbyes and that he'll be back later, Dean headed down the walk way back to Baby.

After both Dean and Cas were settled, they headed downtown to Lazar City. Trash talk between the four of them filling the car compared to the normal classic rock.

Once they arrived, the clerk at the ticket counter/setup station told them that if they wanted to they could wait about 15-20 minutes and they would have the play area to themselves. Agreeing, they headed to play some of the arcade games. Sam and Gabe went straight to the air hockey, while Dean and Cas decided to play one of the shooting games, Carn-evil or something.

"You any good?" Dean questioned, giving Cas a sceptical look.

"Is a pigs ass pork?" They both couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Alright then, Prove it." Dean propositioned as he put in the quarters required. Grabbing their assigned handguns, they readied themselves. Ten minutes, the last two dollars of quarters Dean had on him already, and 3000 or so points ahead of him, Castiel came out victorious.

"You beat me. I can't believe it... Someone actually beat me. Great Job Cas!" Dean congratulated him by slapping his hand on Cas's shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze. "Only other person to beat me was Dad and that was years ago. Glad your with me in the lazer-tag" Dean couldn't stop the grin if he tried. It only got bigger when he noticed Castiel's cheeks turning a little pink. _That is so cute._

_Cute? What the hell. I could totally use a manlier word than cute. Plus he probably doesn't even swing that way. That'd just be my luck..._

Getting themselves ready, Dean piped up with "Remember the rules. Rule #1:" he held up one finger for dramatic effect. "There are no rules. Rule #2: See rule #1"

"Except for the place's rules" Sam spoke up. "We don't wanta get banned like at Glow Golf."

"Glow Golf?" Castiel asked.

"Long story. I'll tell you later." Dean half promised but hoped he would forget.

"Are you children ready? Its show time." Gabe spat out. He always got so into lazer-tag. That's one of the reason's Dean and Sam loved coming here with him so much. The little trickster was a hell of a shot.

"Lets go!" Sam, Dean and Castiel chimed at the same time. Sam and Gabe headed to the door at the other end of the arena so they would start away from the other two.

"We got this. We'll smoke their asses." Dean encouraged Cas. Giving Dean a quick nod, Castiel headed thru the door frame when the ready light came on. Smoke machines filled the space with a fog-like feel, strobe lights hitting them just right. Black lights made the neon color painted "buildings" seem like they were glowing. _This place is awesome._ Castiel thought to himself.

First one to get tagged? Sam. Which he wasn't all that happy about. But Gabe soon came to his rescue and got both Cas and Dean. As the teams ran apart while Dean and Cas's were on "Lock Down" as Dean called it (You couldn't shoot or be shot again for ten seconds after getting tagged.) , Dean whispered out a plan how he thought they could get both Sam and Gabe and hide in the right place to get them again soon after. Following Dean's lead, they both didn't notice Sam had heard almost every word and was heading to cut them off.

As it came down to the seconds before they acted on their plan. Dean realised things didn't feel right. Speeding up to get Cas out of the line of fire, Cas's feet seemed to be knocked right out from under him. Crashing down to the ground with Dean on top of him all he could do was watch as Dean leaned back up and tagged Gabe. Looking back down to Cas, both of them didn't even notice how close they were to each other until they could feel the others breath on their face. Looking into Cas's bright blues that seemed to glow brighter then the neon paint under the black light, Dean gave him a quick smirk. As soon as it had shown up though, it was pulled from his face as Sam came and tagged him. Luckily Castiel was hidden by Deans body and was able to lean over just enough to get Sam before he could get him.

The rest of their time in the game went on. Back and forth, back and forth; It was anyone's game. As they headed out, there was a screen that showed the points. Dean and Cas came out on top only by three tags. Gabe was mumbling disagreements to himself and wanting a recount, Sam was close to pouting, and Dean and Cas were gloating.

"Anyone up for some pizza? My treat..." Castiel asked the group as they headed back out to the impala after turning in their vests.

If Dean noticed the overly hopeful look Cas was giving him, he just chalked it off as since he was driving Cas would need him to agree.

"Sound great to me." "I second that. And maybe some chocolate cake. CiCi's has killer desserts" Sam and Gabe chime in their two cents from the back.

"Okay, Yeah. Totally sounds good to me. CiCi's sound alright a place to you?" Dean asked Castiel.

"Works for me." Castiel answered back with a huge smile. If Dean noticed the fuzzy feeling in his stomach from Cas's smile well... hmmm He didn't have an excuse for that one. Hungry maybe?...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the lazer tag part. :D


End file.
